Automobile tire-protector.



P. PEBJSIG. AUTOMOBILE TIRE PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.18, 1912. 1,081,694., I Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

P. PERSIO. AUTOMOBILE TIRE PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.18, 1912, 1,081,694. I Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wi tueooeo ama-avatars NI D STATES rii iwr OFFICE.

FRANK PERSIC, E

MINON K, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMOBILE TIRE-PROTECTOR.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK PERSIC, a citizen of the Unit-ed Staten residing at Minonk,

in the county of Woodford and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful 'rality of flexibly connected protecting plates or shields which are adapted to wholly embrace the tread and adjacent portions respectively of the shoe 'or outer casing of the tire whereby to protect the same from foreign particles, such as, tacks or like pointed 4 objects.

A further object of the invention is to provide elastic means within saidprotccting plates; arrangin said means whereby the joints between t e. adjacent plates will be .held wholly out of contact with the adjacent surfaces of the shoe of the tire to thereby prevent the chafing of the tire through contact with the plates; and, further, the provision of fastening devices for securing the elastic plates to'the tire and the arrangement of portions of the device upon the exterior'tread surfaces of the plates, so as to form resistant surfaces to permit the tire to obtain such effective purchase with the surface of the ground as will prevent skidding of the vehicle.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a sectional metallic protector wherein any one or particular section of the series may be removed without necessitating the removal of the adjacent sections.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means for hingedly connecting the adjacent sections and for guarding the hinge pins against casual displacement.

With these ant other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will he hereinafter de scribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of a vehicle wheel, showing the application of the protector to the tire thereof; Fig. 2 is a pla n view thereof; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a section online 4-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5' is a section on line 5-5 of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 18; 1912. Serial No. 737.529.

Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

Fig. l; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the protector sections.

The protector comprises identical sections 1, which are constructed preferably of metallic plates, each being bent so as to provide a tread portion 2 and side flanges 3. The tread port ion 2 of each section is provided along each of its transverse edges with hinge knuckles 4, and as shown the knuckles of one plate are associated with knuckles of adjacentplates and connected therewith by hinge pins whereby the companion plates the protector to properly respond to the yielding movements'of the tire. The side flanges 23 are each of a reduced width toward its inner end whereby the edges of the flanges of adjacent sections are disposed in inwardly dit erging relation relatively to the plates, as will be apparent.

At one end each of the sections 1 has its flanges 3 provided with bendable guard extensions 6, while at the opposite end and in line with the hinge knuckles the flanges are recessed, as at 7 whereby to expose the extremities of the hinge pins when it is desired. to remove a. particular section of the protector from the wheel. The extensions 6 of one section overlap the flanges 3 of an adjacent section, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1, whereby the extremities of the hinge pin are concealed to prevent the casual displacement of the pin when the protector is in use. The extensions 6 are slightly offset from'the main length of the flanges 3 and they are adapted to be bent in an outward direction whereby to expose the hinge pins of a par- "tieular section when the latter is to be re- -moved from the tire. This construction is such that any one of the sections can be entire removal of the adjacent section.

The side flanges 3 of each section are provided with straps or equivalent connecting elements 8, one of the straps having a buckle of the other strap, as shown in Fig. 5. In this manner the protector will be securely confined against. the rim A of the wheel, herein conventionally shown, and the protector sections properly supported around the tread surface of the tire. Each of said sections is provided with an inner elastic surface 10, which preferably comprises a strip of leather, rubber, canvas or the like,

permit of the required hinge movements of readily removed without necessitating an are free for relative movements to permit 9 to operatively receive the free terminal being secured at some point in its length to the portion 2through the medium of a rivet 11" having a-relatively broad and somewhat pointed head 12 exteriorly of the portion 2,

so as to form the maximum resisting surface to prevent skidding of the wheel. The strip lO'has one of its ends extended beyond an adjacent end of its section, so as to underlie the hinge joint and to also underlie one terminal of the strip 10 of the adjacent protector section. In order to increase the anti-skidding efiiciency of the protector, it is also desirable to provide each section with a plurality of relatively point- 15 ed surfaces 13, the surface engaging extremities of each being disposed in the same general 'line with the extremities of the' rivets 11.

' From the foregoing descrip'tion, taken in connection with the accompanying. drawings, the construction and operation of the inventiofi will be readilyunderstood without requiring a more extended explanation.

.Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor'details'of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advanta es of this invention,.as claimed.

aving thus described my invention, what I claim is: I 4

1. A tire protector comprising sections, each of said sections having hinge knuckles on its opposite edges,-each'of said sections being rectangular 1n cross section, the knuckles of one section being alined with the knuckles ofan adjacent section, hinge pins passing through the alined knuckles of adjacent sections, and bendable portions fored integral with the sides of each sec- 40 tion at the i1 per edge thereof and disposed outwardly o and engaging the ends of the adjacent hinge pinto form guards to prevent the pin from longitudinal separation from its knuckles, and said bendable portions overlying the adjacent section.

2. A tire protector comprising sections, each ofsaid sect-ions being rectangular in cross section, each of said sections having hinge knuckles on its opposite" edges, the knuckles of one section being alined with the knuckles of an adjacent section, hinge pins passing through the alined knuckles of adjacent sections, bendable portions formed integral with each section adjacent the upper edge ofthe sides of each section and offset and .disposed outwardly of and engaging the ends of the adjacent hinge pin and the ends of the hinge pin.

4; Atire protector, a plurality of protecting sections relatively arranged to embrace the tread of the tire, hinges connecting the sections with each other, an elastic strip carried by each section and located between the section and the tread of the tire and having a portion underlying the joints between adjacent sections, and a fastening devicesecuring the strip to the section.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK rnRsIo. lVitnesses A. J. KENsz, -F. .ADAME. 

